Laing ( ), is a Filipino dish of shredded or whole taro leaves with meat or seafood cooked in thick coconut milk spiced with siling labuyo, lemongrass, garlic, , ginger, and bagoong alamang. It originates from the Bicol Region, where it is known simply as pinangat. Laing is also a type of ginataan (Filipino dishes cooked in coconut milk), and thus may also be referred to as ginataang laing. Laing is commonly eaten as a vegetable side to complement meat or fish side dishes known as ulam in Filipino, which is normally paired with boiled white rice.
Names
Laing, meaning "dried or withered leaves" in
Tagalog language,
is the name of the dish in most parts of the Philippines. However, in the Bicol region, where it originates from, it is simply called
pinangat. This name can be confused with
pinangat na isda, which is a different dish made with fish cooked in a slightly sour broth similar to
sinigang.
The confusion stems from the original meaning of the verb
pangat in the languages of Southern Luzon, which simply means to cook fish or meat in a broth of water and salt.
Laing is typical of Bicolano cuisine, which is known for their common use of chilis and coconut milk.
Description
The original
laing from the Bicol Region does not use shredded
taro leaves, but rather a whole fresh taro leaf (
natong in
Bikol language). This version is the one most commonly referred to as
pinangat. The mixture usually consists of cubed pre-cooked pork, shrimp, or fish flakes (or all three) with
bagoong alamang (shrimp paste), crushed
labuyo chili,
garlic,
,
ginger, and
kakang gata (
coconut cream). It is wrapped with the leaf and tied with a coconut leaf midrib or twine. It is then
steamed in
gata (coconut milk) with a knot of
tanglad (
lemongrass) until the leaf pouches are fork-tender and the coconut milk is reduced to a thick sauce.
The laing version served in Manila and elsewhere is cooked similarly, but with the leaves shredded (usually sold dried, hence the name). It also usually includes chopped leaf stalks.
The taro leaves to be used for laing must be prepared correctly, as they contain amounts of calcium oxalate crystals () that can sometimes cause itching and burning sensations in the mouth. They are usually washed and cooked thoroughly to avoid this. Drying can also lessen the amount of crystals.
Variants
Notable variants of
laing include:
Inulukan
Inulukan or
inulokan is a variant of
laing made from the meat of
Varuna litterata (
uluk or
ulok) wrapped in whole taro leaves and cooked in coconut milk spiced with calamansi, black pepper, and
lemongrass. It is a specialty of
Camalig,
Albay.
It is also known as
pinangat na ugama or
pinangat na talangka, from
ugama and
talangka, other local terms for river crabs.
Linapay
Linapay also known as
tinamuk, is a related dish from
Aklan in the
Western Visayas. It is made from pounded freshwater shrimp (
ueang) mixed with
gawud (grated young coconut meat) and wrapped with taro leaves (
gutaw) and cooked in coconut milk.
Tinumok
Tinumok,
tinomok, or
tinulmok is another traditional variant from Bicol which uses whole taro leaves wrapped around a mixture of freshwater shrimp, fish flakes (and sometimes meat), and
bagoong alamang, with minced or grated coconut meat, onions, chilis, lemongrass, garlic, and other spices cooked in coconut milk. It differs primarily in its use of coconut meat.
Vegan pinangat
Bicol's
pinangat is a
laing variant (
pinangat na laing, a dish).
Pangat
Laing is sometimes referred to as
pangat in Ilonggo-speaking regions.
Often a souring agent such as
Garcinia binucao,
Averrhoa bilimbi, or vinegar is added.
Dagmay
In the Province of Antique, a variant is called
ginat-an nga dagmay, and uses taro (Karay-a, Hiligaynon:
dagmay; Tagalog:
gabi) leaves but also its runners or shoots (Hiligaynon:
takway),
pigeon pea (Karay-a, Hiligaynon, Tagalog:
kadyos), river snails, in particular, telescope snails (Karaya-a, Hiligaynon, Tagalog:
bagongon; Scientific name:
Telescopium telescopium). The same dish is called
ginata-ang bagongon kag dagmay in the
Iloilo.
In the Province of Iloilo, a variant is called ginat-an nga igi, dagmay kag takway, and uses taro runners or shoots, and freshwater snails, in particular, golden apple snails (Hiligaynon: igi; Tagalog: kuhol; Scientific name: Pomacea canaliculata).
In the Eastern Visayas and especially among the Waray people, a variant is called hinatukan nga dagmay or hinatukan nga gaway, but snails may or may not be used, and other meats may be used, or no meat is used at all. Gaway is tarot and hinatukan refers to dishes stewed in thick coconut milk or cream in the Waray language.
See also
